Just Like (a) Human

I recently caved in and signed up with another one of those social networking sites. This one would be Facebook.

For some reason, when I started using Facebook, toying with its features, and figuring out how to get it to work, I started to understand why people actually USE these social networks. It provides people with a convenient, easy way to reach someone, no matter how much their email address changes, and no matter how far they move. Phone number’s changed? Update your account so your friends will know!

The other networks I’ve tried — The now spam-riddled Orkut, and the utter mess that is MySpace — don’t really relate that kind of ideal to users very well. They just seem to emphasize the wrong parts of a social network, and basically have caved in on themselves. Orkut’s just a dead star, but MySpace is more like a black hole, sucking more and more people in to its nigh-inescapable depths.

When I signed up for Facebook with the sole intent of adding Robert Scoble, I was thinking, “Meh, something else to abandon and never visit again.”
I tried out the system there, searching for old classmates, checking out these Facebook Applications, and other things. I found that it was easy to use, and rather intuitive. I then found Facebook Mobile. Facebook Mobile lets me actually keep up with people via text messages. In fact, I’m keeping up with a former coworker via Facebook now because it’s easy to do — I get a text message letting me know he’s said something, and I can reply immediately to that text message.

Even better is that I can use Facebook Applications to add things to one spot. Since I use Flickr, Last.fm, and Twitter, I can use apps to integrate my data in the same spot, making my Facebook page a hub for activity.

One of these days, I’ll keep up with the lot of you all, with your social networks, and stuff.
Do feel free to find me on Facebook as Justin Hobley. Tell me who you are, and I’ll add you.

[tags]Facebook, Social Networking, MySpace[/tags]